Bad idea to strip "anchor babies" of citizenship

Angelica Delgado, 5, holds up a sign while her mother, an immigrant from Ecuador, speaks at the podium at an immigrant rights rally attended by dozens against the new Arizona immigration law -- which takes effect today -- on the steps of Elizabeth City Hall. ELIZABETH, NJ 7/29/10 5:37:33 PM Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER Sent DIRECT TO SELECTS Thursday, July 29, 2010 18:29:14 2436 3834

Republicans usually position themselves as fierce defenders of the Constitution against what they characterize as an onslaught of liberal re-interpretation. But suddenly they want to re-examine the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil.

They’re concerned with babies born here to illegal immigrants and say they want to yank the citizen status of these so-called "anchor babies." It’s a terrible idea that would establish a permanent underclass within our borders and does nothing to address our larger immigration problem.

The 14th Amendment dates from Reconstruction and was intended to grant citizenship to blacks born in the U.S. and newly freed from slavery. It was the party of Lincoln — the Republicans of the mid-19th century — that came up with the idea because they found the notion that a child born in America could be assigned to a lower caste to be noxious.

Now 21st-century Republicans have called for hearings on the amendment, to make sure illegal immigrants aren’t using their babies to plant roots in the U.S. The federal agency that collects U.S. birth data recorded about 7,000 babies born to nonresident aliens in 2006, the most recent data available. It wouldn’t take long for a stateless generation to grow within our borders, a system of apartheid that would undermine the fabric of American society and its values.

Everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken. If the Republicans are interested in real solutions, they should take a look at President Obama’s sound approach that begins with enforcing the laws already on the books. Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have been deported this year, a arecord high, and workplace audits that ferret out and fine companies that hire illegal workers have been stepped up.

Russ Feingold, the Democratic chairman of the Senate’s Constitution subcommitee, said he has no plans to allow the hearings on the 14th Amendment to proceed. Feingold, like President Obama, has called for bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform. That’s the only way to secure our borders, control the legal flow of immigrants and establish a consistent verification system for employment.